The Oceanaire Seafood Room Restaurant Review

: Considering that twenty percent of the Miami-Dade County’s total area is water, one would expect Miami to have even more good, serious seafood restaurants than it has bad drivers. Not even close. This branch of the national Oceanaire franchise has almost single-handedly filled the odd dearth. The eatery does indeed have a formula, but it’s solid, centering on a daily-changing list of eight to ten market-fresh fish. Décor has the feel of an Art Deco-era cruise ship, evoking the sea without fishnets or other familiar kitsch. And food has the same retro-glam charm, starting with a complimentary relish tray and continuing with a menu focusing on all-American fishhouse classics: bacon-studded New England clam chowder (loaded with fresh littlenecks), Dungeness crab Louis, almost binder-free jumbo lump crab cakes, a fisherman’s platter with salt-vinegar fries, ten or twelve types of oysters from the raw bar, plus all the traditional vegetable sides and sweets, like baked Alaska, to match. Though the franchise formula does not emphasize local fish, black grouper is a frequent catch of the day, as are Florida pompano and swordfish.